FO Fridays

A Very Special FO Friday

You’ve probably figured this out from the month of radio silence…

Our baby boy arrived on July 1, four days before his due date! We named him Ronan, a good Irish name like his mom’s and dad’s. He’s absolutely perfect and we’re completely smitten with him.

We’re still adjusting to the new schedule, but Ronan and I are doing very well. He is generally very sweet-tempered. He does get grumpy sometimes, like when he’s waiting in the car with Daddy and Mom is taking too long in the post office:

He likes to be held most of the time, so figuring out how to get knitting done has been a bit of a challenge. I did have a breakthrough about a week ago when I figured out I could knit with him snuggled up in my Moby wrap:

I’d love to show off pictures of him modeling the baby knits I’ve been working on for the last few months, but unfortunately they’re all too big for him! He wasn’t a small baby (about 8 lbs and 20 inches long), so I think I’m going to have to revisit my sizing on those patterns. He’s growing at a rapid rate (he should be, with the amount he eats!), so hopefully it won’t be too long.

I did get a picture of him modeling my knit FO for the week, a baby hat for a friend who had her baby boy just a few days before I did. I think he sensed that this wasn’t for him:

Here are the specs on the FO:

Pattern: Garter Earflap Hat from Purl Soho (Ravelry link).

Yarn: Plymouth Superwash Worsted. I’ve had this yarn sitting in my stash for years and finally found something to do with it. It’s soft and squishy, very reminiscent of Cascade 220 Superwash.

Notes: This was a quick, fun, easy knit! Highly recommended. And the little tassel and earflaps, which are a little hard to see in the modeled photo of my wiggly son, are so cute:

More baby photos to come!

FO Friday: Yep, More Baby Knits

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, aren’t I?

This newest FO matches the colorwork hat I knit up a few months ago:

The specs:

Pattern: My own (to be named). The hat and vest will likely be part of a baby collection I’ll be releasing sometime in the fall.

Yarn: Knit Picks Brava Sport in Grass and Caution. I got the hat and the vest out of just one skein of the green and less than a half skein of the yellow. Baby knits are tiny.

I’m still impressed with the quality of the Knit Picks acrylic lines. The sport-weight version is just as soft and non-squeaky as the worsted-weight version I used for the baby blanket.

Notes: I went back and forth on whether I wanted to do the v-neck edging in the same yellow-green combo as the hems and armholes, but in the end I decided it would be a little too much yellow. I think I made the right choice. Plus the neckline flows better into the green buttoned shoulder band this way.

I’m planning to knit up another sample of this pattern in a different yarn and colorway, because I want the pattern to have the options of a round neck instead of a v-neck and colorwork placement near the hem instead of at the chest.

Bonus FO for this week:

Pattern: Golden Pear (Ravelry link) by Melissa Thomson

Yarn: Scroungings from my leftovers drawer… I think this is Dream in Color Classy (the brown) and some varieties of Cascade 220 for the cream and green.

Notes: Not my own pattern, for once (gasp!). I have a friend who’s going into labor at any moment, so I thought I’d whip up a quick little baby hat. I think this took me about 2.5 hours from cast on to weaving in ends, so it was definitely quick! The i-cord loop at the top twisted a little when I sewed it down, but I actually like the look better than straight, so it’s all good. This is going in the mail tomorrow.

FO Friday and New Pattern Release: Oscillation Scarf

I have a new FO to show off, and a new pattern!

And it’s (gasp) not a baby knit.

The scarf is part of the awesome Malabrigo Quickies program (small designs that take 1-2 skeins of Malabrigo yarn). You can check out the rest of the Quickies here on the Malabrigo website. There are some ridiculously cute patterns there.

We had fun trying to pretend I wasn’t 36 weeks pregnant in the photoshoot. I think we pulled it off rather well. The bump is kiiinnnd of present in the full body shots:

But I think you still see the scarf first and not just OMG baby!

The FO specs:

Pattern: my own Oscillation Scarf (Ravelry link), available to purchase for $4 US.

Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo, two skeins in Reflecting Pool. Blue-green yarns are my Kryptonite, so I loooovee this colorway. My skeins were very different from each other, so I alternated every other row and twisted the yarns up the side. It looks neat and tidy in person, and you can barely see it in the photos, even the closeups:

The combo of the winding cables and alternating skeins broke up the pooling you sometimes get with hand-dyed yarns quite nicely. I’m really happy with the way the colorway looks with the pattern!

Notes: This is one of those sweet spot patterns: just interesting enough to keep your attention, but easily memorized so it makes great TV or travel knitting. A good chunk of this scarf was knit at the TNNA tradeshow while manning my booth or chatting (oops, still need to do a TNNA recap post!).

And now, of course, I’m back to baby knits. My little one is due in three weeks, so not too much longer until you get to see some modeled shots!

FO Friday: Unnamed Baby Cardigan

I finished this little sweater a few weeks ago, but I never got around to blogging about it.

Most of the party is in the back:

The specs:

Pattern: My own (very first self-designed baby garment!).

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Emerald, about 1.25 skeins. This yarn has been marinating in my stash since August of 2012 (long time readers might remember it from this birthday wrap-up post!). I love using long-term stash yarn.

And yes, it’s completely impractical, since the yarn isn’t machine washable. But it’s cuddly soft, and I figure my baby will probably fit into it for about 30 seconds anyway, so I’m willing to do a few hand-wash-and-dry-flat rounds.

Notes: I was shooting for a 3-6 month size, since my little one will be born in July and this won’t be worn until the fall. I think I pulled it off, but the sweater looks so teeny to me… I guess time will tell.

My plan is to write up this pattern and get it tested this summer, and then I can make this part of the baby collection I’m planning to release this fall.

I really like the little cable pattern on the back. It shows up so nicely in the Malabrigo:

You’ll eventually see more pictures of this one when my model arrives!

FO Friday: Baby Hats!

Well, I said I’d go nuts with baby stuff now that my commissioned designs were finished. Maybe you thought I was exaggerating?

Ahem. For FO Friday today, I have two baby hats, designed and knit up in about two days each.

First up, this little fair isle number:

The specs:

Pattern: My own, coming… sometime? I’ll probably have a flurry of baby releases this fall, after the baby is born and I have a willing model. The colorwork pattern is one I was playing with more than a year ago, but I wasn’t happy with it for an adult hat. I think it’s perfect for babies, though!

Yarn: Knit Picks Brava Sport. I got a bunch of Brava in a few different weights for Christmas, since I knew I’d want to make some easy-care baby gifts. This was my first experience knitting with it. I totally understand why people are raving about it. If I didn’t know it was 100% acrylic, I wouldn’t have guessed. It’s soft and non-squeaky. Very nice to knit with.

Unfortunately, I’ve heard that Knit Picks has moved production of this yarn to another country recently, and it changed considerably so it’s closer to other types of 100% acrylic yarn. Here’s hoping they get it resolved, because I’d buy this stuff by the truckload if it was always like this.

Notes: Does this colorwork pattern look like TIE fighters to anyone else? Just me then? Okay.

The next hat turned out pretty dang cute, too:

Pattern: My own, probably coming sometime this fall.

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Azul Profundo and Lettuce. This yarn is soooo nice on the hands. After knitting with a cotton-like yarn on the commissioned designs, it was like bathing in lotion. And bonus–this is all leftover yarn! I knew I was hanging onto that teeny ball of Lettuce for a good reason.

Notes: I love the bobble-y pattern on the brim, but the contrasting color decreases and the teensy i-cord make this hat for me. I cannot WAIT to put it on my very own baby. I might die from cute.

And if those weren’t enough baby knits for you, I also started a little cabled sweater design, also in Malabrigo Worsted. It’s about 1/4 of the way done already. Maybe if I hustle, I’ll have it finished for next Friday. :-)

FO Friday: Zita

I actually finished something I can show you this week! It’s a Christmas present for my three-year-old niece:

I used to knit Christmas presents for almost everyone in the family, but once I started designing, that went right out the window. My sister-in-law still makes wistful comments about the baby sweaters I used to make for her daughter, though. So hopefully this will be a nice surprise. :-)

The specs:

Pattern: Zita (Ravelry link) by Sarah Ronchetti of Sezza Knits.

This is a great pattern! I followed it pretty much as written, although I did change the cap sleeves to long ones because my sister-in-law requested dresses appropriate to wear in winter.

Did you know baby/toddler sleeves aren’t always tapered from underarm to wrist (and if they are, it usually isn’t much)? I didn’t, but luckily I looked at some other patterns before I decided how to do the sleeves. I was ready to sail in there with my usual decrease rate for adult sleeves. Guess I have some things to learn before I start designing sweaters to fit my upcoming little one…

Yarn: Berroco Vintage (wool/acrylic blend) in 5159 Elderberry, 4 skeins. This yarn is now pretty much my go-to for washable baby/toddler knits. It’s nice to knit with–not squeaky at all–and it blocks well. Plus my niece’s favorite colors are purple and pink, so this magenta should hopefully be perfect.

Notes: I’ve never knit a dress before, so I was surprised at how long the skirt took and how much yarn it ate up! But I love the finished product. The twisted stitches at the chest give just enough visual interest without being too busy. And the ruffle is so dang cute:

We’re heading off to (hopefully) sunny California on Monday for the holidays. It’ll be a nice change from the endless snow/rain we’ve had here. And I even have a teensy-weensy baby bump to show off (although it kind of just looks like I’ve been eating too many Christmas cookies).

I’m planning to kick back, relax, and get tons of knitting done. It should be a blast!

FO Friday and New Pattern Release: Reilly Pullover

Boy, things have been crazy around here! Rhinebeck was awesome, and I promise to have a post up on that in the next few days. But in the meantime, I have had not one, not two, but three new sweater patterns released this week! So as not to overwhelm this post completely, I’ll space them out into separate posts.

First up: a design in Knit Picks’s newly released Swish Collection, the Reilly Pullover!

And here’s the original sample, the FO I couldn’t show you back around this time last year, in its glory at Rhinebeck:

Forgive the slightly glazed look and the slumped posture-it had been a long day!

My inspiration for this sweater was my love of Aran patterning, but I wanted to keep it simple because it’s easy for cables to overwhelm a sweater. I knew I wanted a large front cable, and two smaller ones. Making the side cables wavy seemed like a good way to add a modern touch.

Here are the FO details:

Pattern: My own Reilly Pullover

Yarn: Swish Worsted in Marine Heather (the green sweater is in Jade). I really, really like this yarn. It’s soft and nice to work with, but as you can see, cables pop just as well as they do with a stickier, more rustic wool.

Notes: This sweater combines three of my favorite elements: cables that are complex but not hard to keep track of, a v-neck, and raglan, all-in-one-piece construction.

Stay tuned for more Rhinebeck pictures!

FO Friday: Francie Scarf

I have an older FO to show you today: Francie Scarf, from the upcoming book Hitch: Patterns Inspired by the Films of Alfred Hitchcock!

(All photos from the book © Nick Murway)

Francie is a lace scarf with strong diagonal lines and a double moss stitch border, inspired by Grace Kelly’s wardrobe in To Catch a Thief. The scarf is big enough to wrap around the head, but it’s also thin enough to tie around the neck.

I’m not much of a lace knitter, but this stitch pattern was perfect for my tastes: simple enough to be easily memorized, but challenging enough so I didn’t get bored.

I’m participating in a blog tour for the book later this fall, so expect to hear more details about this design then!

I’ve gotten a chance to look through the whole Hitch book, and let me tell you, there are some spectacular patterns. It’s available for pre-order as of yesterday (and you get an awesome bonus pattern for a cute cowl).

And look–my scarf made the cover! :-D

FO Friday: Creme de Menthe

I’m running my biggest promotion ever to celebrate my 30th birthday tomorrow: 50% off any self-published pattern in my Ravelry store with the coupon code 50for30. The sale goes through the end of the day tomorrow (US Eastern Time).

Official business out of the way, here’s the FO Friday post for my Madelinetosh Twist DK vest!

We had a blast with the photoshoot. I wanted a fun vibe, since the vest is a little more kooky than some of my pieces. I think it turned out pretty well!

The specs:

Pattern: My own Creme de Menthe pattern, which will be in testing in the next few weeks and probably released in… late September? Early October?

Yarn: Madelinetosh Twist DK, two skeins of Bluestem Willow and one of Farmhouse White. I can’t say enough good things about this yarn. Squishy, springy, delightful to knit with. It’s only available through the Madelinetosh shop, and I confess I’ve been stalking it a bit for a sweater quantity in a deep green or blue.

Notes: Gosh I love this vest! I decided up front to do 2:1 stripes through the body, which made things very interesting when it went from knitting in the round to flat. But that was perfect–after all that stockinette, the interest of having to read the knitting and push the work from one side of the needle to the other added just the right amount of interest.

I’m writing the pattern with two different sections for that part: first, there will be a little summary for those who have some experience or feel comfortable checking it themselves. Second, there will be a table with row-by-row instructions for those who need a little more hand-holding. This is a new format for me, so I’m interested to see how my testers like it!

The planned stripe effect on the shoulders turned out great, if I do say so myself:

FO Friday: Worsted Weight Europos Scarf

I finished my scarf! Here it is blocking:

I learned from the first (DK-weight) sample that this pattern pulls in a lot, since it’s basically 1×1 ribbing with regular increases and decreases thrown in. So I was rather aggressive with the blocking this time, knowing it will spring back a certain amount when it’s unpinned.

Quick specs:

Pattern: My own Europos Scarf

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios, one skein in Vaa. Rios is in the running for my favorite yarn ever. It’s as soft as butter, but fairly hard-wearing thanks to the twist.

Notes: I luurve this pattern. It’s just interesting enough to not be boring, but it’s easily memorized. Perfect travel knitting. It pretty much lived in my purse for the past week. This pattern played really well with the variegated quality of the yarn, too. It was so nice to not have to worry about pooling.

In other news, the Bevin sweater re-knit is nearly completed too! Just a few ends to weave in and blocking left.

Now, maybe you’re wondering why I’m spending all this time and effort reknitting samples when I could be working on new designs. The truth is, I have an exciting month ahead of me. My wonderful print pattern distributor, Stitch Sprouts, offered me the chance to share time in an exhibitor booth at the TNNA summer trade show!

For those of you who don’t know, TNNA is an abbreviation for The National NeedleArts Association. Their annual trade shows are a big deal–loads of knitting and fiber related businesses, yarn store owners, and very well-known designers attend. I’m feeling a little bit out of my depth, to tell the truth, but I’m slowly getting a handle on everything I need to get done in order to have a successful booth.

Stay tuned for more preparations!